


A Birth out of Death

by superpotterwhorelock



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-23 03:16:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17072480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superpotterwhorelock/pseuds/superpotterwhorelock
Summary: Clint Barton has officially retired from the Avengers team and is currently living his best stay at home dad life. That is, until something happens that results in the birth of his portrayal of Ronin.





	A Birth out of Death

The stiflingly hot day might’ve bothered anyone else, but Clint found it hard to be annoyed by such trivial things since he had returned home. He happily worked hands on, developing calluses as the unrelenting sun beat down on his neck. He gently rubbed the back of it, thinking how Laura would insist he use aloe on it later. Thinking how maybe Laura would put the aloe on herself. Thinking of Laura doing other things for him. His lips twitched upward at the thought of his beautiful wife and their private moments. If he hadn’t already not minded the work before, thoughts of her certainly helped.  


The two of them had had tension for a while; Clint knew that and he was sorry for it. He had promised her that after defeating Ultron he was done playing superheroes. In all fairness, he had promised himself that too. Clint would never forget the devastation on Laura’s face as he left for Seoul with the other Avengers to defeat the artificial intelligence Tony made, but it was nothing compared to the time three years later when he left for the Avengers complex upstate after he said he was staying home for good. That time was devastation mixed with fury.  


He had returned home from the battle of Ultron ready to re-floor the sun-room as promised. His days were filled with daily trips in to town. It was one of the fondest times in his life. He would take Cooper in the pick up truck and show him the ins and outs of hardware store: what tools he would need, what aisle to find them in, stuff like that. They’d get back to the house and he’d show Cooper how to lay the floor and where to stamp it down. Laura didn’t like the loud noise it made so she rarely watched Clint working. Later that evening though, the refurbishing noises would stop and they’d all sit at the wooden kitchen table in the dining room of the farmhouse and every time Clint looked at Laura she’d be smiling gently at him. The smile was a door to the inside of her soul, how genuinely happy she was to have him home every night again. And that night? Well, she’d show him just how grateful she was for that new floor.  


His kids were his pride and joy. Seeing their groggy little faces every morning made him feel even more guilty for missing so much of their young lives. His daughter was an angel. She’d sit on the floor near the sun-room and doodle all day long as Cooper and Clint worked. He thought it would have annoyed his son to have a girl intrude on their father-son time, but Cooper didn’t attempt anything more than a couple harsh glances at the tiny girl in the dress.  


Most nights Clint would read Lila a bedtime story; Cooper claimed to be much too old for this. So Clint would only read aloud to his daughter and kiss her on the forehead to say goodnight, then he’d go spend time with his littlest. He liked to just sit there in his rocking chair, holding Nate. He always gazed down at him with such wonder. Even though this was his third kid, the surge of exhilaration and disbelief at becoming a dad had not waned.  


He had the perfect life. He was rarely upset.  


Then, three years down the road the phone rang. It was a cool evening night and they had just finished supper. The dishes were all loaded into the sink and Clint could hear Laura softly humming as she washed them while he picked up the phone.  
“Hello?” he had answered.  
“Clint.”  
Shit was Clint’s first thought. Shit because he’d know that voice anywhere and he knew he’d probably do anything for it.  
“It’s Steve.”  
\---  


What he felt the most guilt about when he left to fight against and alongside friends was that he was leaving Laura with three little kids. Nate had been three when he left. He probably didn’t understand what was going on. Lila and Cooper did though.  


It was heartbreaking for Clint to endure. The truth was, he didn’t truly miss fighting at all. Sure, he missed the friends he had made along the way. Especially Natasha, but nothing compared to the absence he felt for his family while he was fighting. However, Cap had told him the situation and it seemed dire. A god damn Civil War? They actually needed him  
“Daddy, why do you have to go? Why can’t you stay here?” Tears filled his daughter’s darling little brown eyes as she begged Clint to stay. Clint got down on one knee on their front porch and looked Lila in the eye.  
“I’m sorry, sweet heart. The Avengers need me.”  
“But we need you too.”  
Clint sighed, for his daughter was much too clever for her age and he didn’t know how to respond to that without seeming like he was betraying her. Like he was betraying all of them. He opened up his arms and hugged her tight, then stood up and looked at Cooper. He had been quiet throughout the whole thing. When he met his father’s eyes he simply turned around and stomped to his room, refusing to say goodbye. Clint’s eyes met the ground as shame overtook his body.  


He pecked Laura on the cheek and made his way to the car. He didn’t risk a glance back over his shoulder, but he watched her from the car as he backed out of the driveway. Watched his beautiful wife with the furiously devastated look as she gently placed a hand on their little girl’s shoulder and as she held their baby son with the other.  


But that was two years ago. He had returned home safe and sound. When he had entered the house Lila cried out “daddy!” and then thrust upon him seemingly hundreds of pictures she had drawn for him. He ooed and awed over each one appropriately, but not before he took Laura in his arms and dipped her back, kissing her passionately.  
He had heard a groan of disgust from their couch and glanced up to see Cooper grinning. He made his way to the couch, ruffled his hair, and then scooped up Nate. They had been a happy family again.  
And that’s how Clint intends to stay. Any scuff between the married couple was minor and average now.  


He had finished splitting wood as he thought about his family’s past. Now he was onto mowing the lawn. He was making his way towards the shed where they kept the lawnmower when he thought he heard commotion coming from the direction of the farmhouse. He stopped walking so he could listen closer.  


There was nothing, but that made him even more hesitant. He cocked his head and furrowed his brow and began to walk towards the house. Suddenly Lila came bursting out of the front door. The screen door banged against the siding as she bounded her way down the stairs. Her pigtail braids seemed to fly every which way as she teared her way towards Clint.  
“Daddy!” she shrieked. Only this time, her voice was inconsolable. Terrified. Clint started jogging towards her, his heartbeat picking up with every second. A thousands thoughts must have crossed his mind per beat.  
Laura was his first one. What’s happened to Laura? She fell? Passed out? Had a heart attack?  
Then naturally  
Cooper? Did he get into my tools? Is he bleeding? Followed by: The baby? Is something wrong with Nate?  
He tried to calm himself down as he kept jogging towards his daughter, reminding himself that little girls shriek over broken dolls too. That’s when he noticed something weird about the air above Lila’s head. It seemed hazy. He picked up his pace, realizing there were pieces of something floating in the air. Something? He could be crazy, but he swears it was pieces of his very own daughter.  
He was close enough to hear his daughter hiccuping as she was racked with sobs.  
“Daddy, help me!” she begged. “Mommy’s gone! She disappeared! And Coop and baby too!” Clint was running full force now, but time seemed to make the sprint agonizingly slow. He was almost there. He bent slightly to intercept his daughter in his arms and hold her tight. He was only about two feet away now. He slid to his knees and opened his arms, made a move to grab her. But he was too late. His little girl had turned to dust right in front of his eyes, a moment before she had reached his outstretched arms. They closed on nothing but air.  


A cold numb anxiety overtook him despite the heat. The sweat that was on his neck now made him shiver. He didn’t need to go in to the house to feel the absence of his other loved ones as well. Sadness pounded in time with his heart, along with waves of terror. Over powering all of that though was intense rage. He looked up slowly from the ground. He knew what he had to do. Someone was going to pay.


End file.
